Literature Review--Your Discoveries

Take a moment to describe and write about the research you have collected for your literature review.  What discoveries have others made about your topic/questions?  How have these other researchers gotten you to think about your topic or research process in new ways?

Blog Post #6 HJ Bennett

"What the teacher didn't know" page 98 describes an opportunity for professional development via student input. Campano lists the following questions such as:

• When was there a productive atmosphere? 

• Why would a student adopt an oppositional stance toward school? 

• When did school require the students to compromise or deny an aspect of of who they felt they were?

Students were asked to share their feelings about classroom management. What better way to learn how one is viewed then from the mouths of our students? As educators we must take care to avoid conflict, social critique and intercultural miscommunication as suggested by Campano.

I do view my students as individuals from whom I have the distinct pleasure of watching the majority of them mature over a four year period either as my students or passers-by in the vast hallways. My thoughts of these young adults who are shaped by "both personal and group history" coincides with Campano's.  I feel strongly that student behaviors are "rational responses to unjust situations" reflected by their passions and interests.  I am witness to the youthful quest for independence  best described as a search for knowledge and identity in every day lives.

Blog Post #6 - Campano

One of Campano's central themes is the necessity for teachers to listen to their students and their stories. At face value, this seems obvious. With the first day of school comes a number of "ice breakers" and "tell me something about yourself" games. In a survey, I'm sure that most teachers would say that they get to know their students and that they feel like they have a close relationship with most of them.

Still, Campano's reflections on Priscilla and Ma-Lee's survival stories really resonated with me. I feel that I have created good relationships with my students: I go to their sports games, we joke about movies, and a number of my students come and see me after school to hang out or talk. Still, do I really know my students? All of my students have experienced successes and hard-ships, and all of them carry cultural identities, ideals, and experiences. How have I allowed my students to bring these experiences into their education? In many ways, I have failed to connect my students' lives to their education. This must go further than simply celebrating a country's holiday or a random show-and-tell.

When Campano allowed his students to express their stories, he found that, regardless of background, all of his students "asserted their deep emotional investment in schooling". Admittedly, I was taken a back somewhat when I read this. In the daily routine of teaching in an urban public school, it is easy to get lost in the "teacher's lounge banter" that usually focuses on a group of students who simply "don't care" or "it would be better if they just stayed at home." Additionally, probably every teacher has had these thoughts about a student or two: they're lazy, his parents don't care, it's not worth even trying to teach her. If we really take a step back, how do we actually know these things? More often than not, we have failed to really find out what our students think about their education, their goals, or even simply what their educational and life experiences have been like. We are quick to label a kid as "lazy" but we fail to find out what motivates our students and to create meaning for their edcuation. We expect our students to do what we ask of them, but maybe our students don't want to be ordered around by someone who knows nothing about them and just keeps saying "learn this because this will be on the next quiz". 

Blog #6 Nilson DaSilva

Campano’s book focuses on the role that immigrant stories play in the classroom environment.  He examines, through his personal experiences, the social significance of individual stories on student’s self-awareness of their own capacity and potential.  In using the “process of knowledge construction” as a framework to explore and interpret agency, engagement, and language development processes, Campano touches upon many areas which resonate with the student stories I have observed in the classroom.  Many of the students I observe come from immigrant families and speak English as a second language in their homes. 

My students and I engage in the process of knowledge construction by collaboratively building, interrogating, and elaborating our funds of knowledge.  As Campano, I always encourage my students to do their best while at the same time communicating to them that their tests and grades do not reflect their potential or impact my belief in them.  This process, in turn, allows students to reevaluate past experiences and begin to create supportive community where it did not exist for them before. I have engaged students, like Campano’s “Carmen”, who faced challenges relating to identity within the classroom and have found the process of knowledge construction as an invaluable tool for empowering such students to overcome their personal challenges.

I notice this process has a positive influence on students caught in a cycle of school categorization, a cycle I worry acts as a form of “symbolic violence” (Bordieu, 1993) that may cause immediate psychological effects and potentially long term consequences. As Campano, I treat my students as capable agents within their socio-cultural contexts.  I observe this engagement as helpful to students who may feel limited by their upbringing, language learning experiences, or social stigmatization.  Based on my experiences as an educator and student, I believe that when students have access to supportive academic environments they are more likely to engage in the process Campano refers to as “unlearning” and release the stories they hold that tell them they are failures.  They are magnificent.

Aly Catalan memo #6

       The closing to chapter 5 resonated with me because it is something that I am really thinking a lot about lately and just cannot shake from my mind. Campano writes: “I think it is important to temper one’s optimism. Although Ma-Lee, Priscilla, and other children were successful in my class, their educational futures remain uncertain because of systemic inequality… students who are shrouded in the mystery of their own particular histories, students who have left my class as well as the new students to arrive in the fall…whose mouths remain covered because we haven’t learned how to listen” (70-1). I am having such a hard time swallowing this this year. If there is a professional identity that I want to cultivate, it is really learning how to listen to students, which would be the interested identity. I spend so much time picking and choosing things from scripted curriculums that I think will resonate with my students, but who am I to make that decision? It is like one of Campano’s students says, that their lives do not just fit on a paper. I feel that oftentimes in my ESL courses, we are encouraged to get students to write about themselves first, and to use that as an entry way into getting to content. Although I do agree that it is important to let students express themselves and share who they are, which is what Campano touches on in his book, I find the entire system to be inauthentic, because even if I provide the time for my students to share their story with me or to use literacy in order to continue their stories, at the end of the day my students will take PARCC, STAR, ACCESS, and my ability to teach will be evaluated based upon their performance on these assessments. The whole thing is infuriating! I love what Campano did and what he was able to do in teaching and listen to his students, reflecting on his experiences, and then “committing to inquiry.” I think the real question that I have is how to inspire other teachers to follow this format as well? Is leading by example enough? I don’t know if anyone else felt this way while reading Campano. This realization is really depressing for me, even though I do think Campano wrote this work in a way that was meant to be hopeful and inspiring.

Melillo: Memo #6, Responding to Campano

Chapter 7, “Dancing Across Borders,” from Campano resonated with me.  Angelica’s work with Mini-Corps and  story and how she applied it to her teaching made me want to be able to do the same.  “Angelica’s exploration of her own life story, her testimonio, informed her ongoing development as an educator”  (Campano, 2007, p. 94).  As a result, her identity and purpose for teaching were interwoven.  Angelica was able to be the personal as the professional and cultivated her relationships with her students in the classroom and by organizing “Girl Talk.”  Her practice allowed her to connect with her students more.  This one teacher was able to share her work and  story, and her students shared theirs.  She understood what it was like to be unable to share a problem at recess,or why a student was unable to come to school on time due to family obligations.  Her students trusted her due to her experiences.
    As an educator, my students are incredibly important to me.  I worry about them in school and at home because I know that many of them don’t have traditional home lives and the support they deserve.  Over the years, I have had some students share their home lives with me, but many remain silent.  I often wish those who were silent would share themselves through their voices or in their writing.  However, the type of writing in my classroom does not always lend itself to this type of exchange.  I, myself, don’t share my story or experiences as much or as often as I have in the past.  Students need to know their teachers to build those trusted relationships that Angelica had in chapter 7.  “Our presence in the classroom is ineluctably animated by our own experiences as learners, our implicit and explicit notions of what constitutes knowledge,and what it means to be an educated person.  These shape the contours of what we imagine as being possible in the classroom.  They also expose our vulnerabilities.  As it is with students, so it is with teachers”  (Campano, 2007, p. 91).  To expose myself in the class would make me vulnerable; however, if it helped a child, it would be worth it.    Now, I need to reshape my instruction so that it lends itself to sharing my story so that my students can share theirs.

Memo #6

One story of Campano's that particularly stood out to me was the one of his student Ma-Lee. This Hmong girl was ridiculed by teachers due to the fact that she was quiet and "defiant" because of her unwillingness to talk in class. This lack of contribution was not recognized as a means to assess her surroundings, but as one of disobeying the classroom environment by withholding her participation.

Campano realized that Ma-Lee had something to bring to the table, and slowly but surely coaxed it out of her. When she felt comfortable enough, Ma-Lee, through writing, let Campano into her personal life and what she had dealt with growing up where she came from. This eventually led into her joining a group of other students with multiple cultural backgrounds, and Ma-Lee feeling more empowered with her voice. Culminating with an essay that was edited and went further into depth about her emotions being an immigrant and how she wants to defend her culture.

What struck me about how awesome this piece was, is that Campano gave the avenue for Ma-Lee to go down to express herself, and she took it. Instead of chalking her up as defiant and stubborn, he worked diligently, but patiently to break her out of her shell, and feel more comfortable being who she is in front of others.

If teachers do not allow students to be who they are, and encourage them to embrace their identity, then how do they expect them to participate or feel comfortable enough in the classroom to get involved? As educators we have a duty to make every student feel comfortable within our school building, to allow them the basic needs of Maslow's hierarchy, so they can grow and learn to their fullest potential.

Nelson memo#6

I thought it was interesting that while working through the mess of his inquiry, Compano came to new realizations about his students. He talks about using school literacy and curriculum to help students orient themselves in different communities. It makes me think about our projects and how we may fall into some new and intriguing discoveries about ourselves and our students throughout this research process.

Ma-Lee's idea of cultural identity made me think of my own students. They are all from other countries, and I bet that many of them would say that they identify with their native culture. I wonder if you ask the same kids in a few years how their cultural identities have changed, you might see some of the confusion that Ma Lee feels. I hope that my students can grow and change to embrace American culture as well as the culture of their Home countries. 

Compano's idea of the teacher researcher as relational identity. It makes sense to me that the teacher researcher can be creative and thoughtful while also looking at the big picture. This aligns with my philosophies.  I am definitely a big picture person, and I am not afraid to make mistakes. The teacher researcher as a relational identity relates a portion of the research work to the whole classroom. Ideally, this is what I would like to do as well. 

Memo 6: Dan Harris: Campano Response

I especially related to Campano's chapter titled, "I Will Tell You a Little Bit About My People."  Similarly to Campano, I find stories to be a powerful tool in not just education, but in someone's development as a person.  I have seen necessary silences, silencing in schools, and movement from silence to voice as a teacher, all headings of different sections within Campano's chapter.  Although I find it difficult to do as a science teacher, I value, as Campano does, personal stories as an "academic resource."  I wish I did a better job of encouraging students to voice their stories, as Erica and Priscilla do in the chapter.  Hearing these stories is a reminder of how all of my students are so multi-dimensional, and it really forces me to think about what to prioritize in the 1 hour per day I have with them.

Like Campano, I have had the experience of students divulging pieces of their stories extremely non-chalantly.  I taught sixth graders last year and I felt as though they were still trying to figure out how it was appropriate to communicate personal stories, and to whom it was safe to do so.  When they did feel safe, the stories would emerge in bits and pieces usually in the midst of normal conversation or daily routine.  One of my students had a difficult week because it was the one year anniversary of her baby sister passing away, and I only knew about it because she was doodling "R.I.P." instead of doing her work.

SILENCING IN SCHOOLS
Aside from 2 social workers (1 of whom is only part-time at my school) and a school psychologist, there is very minimal to zero effort put in to getting to know our students.  Campano points out that the school's bureaucratic response is to see them as in need of remediation, instead of any attempt at understanding their story.  In reality, I think a focus on making students feel heard and valued is the first step towards truly getting a child invested in their own education.  However, some teachers at my school believe remediation is the first and biggest step for many of the students, and it has fueled a culture of low expectations.  I also could not agree more with Campano about how families and parents are silenced.  He quotes Hugh Mehan (1996) talking specifically about students who are deemed to have learning disabilities through a series of computerized and/or standardized tests, without the more narrative input of parents and even sometimes teachers.  "Children are thus labeled. Without the means to challenge these 'institutionally sanctioned identities' parents often maintain a low profile" (55).  Teachers then blame parents for being uninvolved, but it is sometimes because they have already been made to feel powerless.  I really struggled to negotiate how to give voice to parents of my students who had IEPs.  They knew that their child already had an IEP whether they agreed with it or not, but unfortunately their child did not get support in my class because I taught science.  I too ultimately felt powerless and voiceless to make any real changes on my student's parent's behalf.

Memo #6_Responding to Campano

Throughout his book, Campano shares stories of his students and their identities, and ends with a chapter on teacher professional identities.

Referring to the book, what student stories--and his experiences as a teacher negotiating those stories within his classroom and school community--resonated with you?  Also, what professional identities have you been cultivating, and do you want to cultivate?  Notice that "identity" here is plural.  I believe we all have multiple identities across our personal and professional contexts.

Memo #5: The Mess

Messiness in my life is never welcomed, yet certainly present. I like to keep my tasks in a linear fashion, taking care of one thing at a time on my way up to a clear schedule. Whether that be planning for teaching, doing my grad classwork, coaching at the gym, or having some time to do as I please. I love to check tasks off my "to-do" list, which is hopefully organized. But the weirdest thing about it all, is that although I love to be organized, it never lasts long, and I do not get too stressed, easily. I usually retain an optimistic outlook, no matter what is going on around me.

Reading this article, it felt pretty messy to follow along with, so I used other's memos to help synthesize what I was thinking. This is typically how I get through the process of coming up with something to write about though, a messy web of ideas until I finally see a linear thought process. Which is why the piece about casting around resonated with me in the article.

Although I like to go off feel for a lot of things, I also like to have cold hard evidence in my research to help prove points, or to have something to at least base my ideas off of. So that is where the article and I disagreed a little bit. Although the messiness usually helps me find out what I want to argue, I then like having data to support it, so I am definitely somewhere in the middle. Hopefully I find that balance when working on my research project, so I can remain optimistic throughout the process and not a stressed out mess.

Blog #5
    After reading Tina Cook's article on "Mess", I have to agree with most of her findings about it being so hard in the beginning to not be orderly when learning to do action research. I used to be that way in the beginning of teaching, but I soon found out in life that you can not always find things when you want to if you are that messy. Being involved in mathematics for so long, I find that I usually rely heavily on examples of how to do certain operations and so on. I feel that you can't just tell someone to solve a problem in mathematics without giving examples and showing them the way to do it. This was how I learned how to do things. This however is not the way that you go about doing "Action Research". I can understand how it can be very difficult because I tried to help my daughter for the last two years as she had a job doing research at Rhode Island Hospital under a couple of doctors. When I asked her what she was suppose to do, she said"Research on Cancer" I was really shocked that the doctors did not tell her to do experiments for a theory that they had, but to write up a proposal and present it at meetings. She struggled at this in the beginning until she had some help from family members and friends helping her to redefine what it was that she was going to do.
   This is what we have to do here also. Look for a question that needs to be answered and come up with ways and data to support some hypotheses that we make. This is never an easy task for people who are not experienced in doing things this way. Hopefully, I'll be able to complete and present my Research as well as my daughter figured out how to do her research.

Dan Lima Blog 5 - The Mess

Tina Cook’s “The Importance of mess in action research” explores the process of action research in the classroom, its benefits, and its importance for us as educators. This article was very relevant for me as I pursue my own qualitative research in my classroom. Prior to taking this course, I has always conducted quantitative research. Whether it was an economics project that focused on the distribution of wealth in an emerging market or a psychology research proposal that focused on the effects of a visual stimulus, I often found myself doing very strict, controlled research; gather results, compare it to a control group, and analyze the results for variation. As a result, this qualitative research proposal has been somewhat of a challenge for me to put together. I really enjoyed Cook’s piece because it showed that I was not alone in my struggle. Just as Cook’s colleagues found themselves grappling with the idea of “what is true action research”, I found myself in the same position.

Perhaps the most difficult challenge for us as researchers is coming up with an idea. When I was tasked with coming up with a research proposal that would allow me to explore my own practice, I found myself lost in a myriad of ideas. Cook defines this as the “mess” of action research. Her colleagues used words such as “mess, bumbling, jumble, untidy, free flowing” and “thoughts without set outcomes” to characterize the ‘searching for meaning’ period. Indeed, this was my experience when I first completed my journal articles. I would go home and reflect on my day, but I was not trying to find one area to focus. As Cook explains, this was, “a lot of it casting around and then something grabs you.” Although I had not predetermined what my area of focus would be, I eventually started noticing trends in my reflections. Botanizing allows shapes and patterns to emerge from the ‘initial confusion’. We observe our practice and begin to develop our research focus. Cook explains this as the “botanizing period”. I was over-exhausted after school from lecturing, and my kids were tired of the same routine. So I decided to explore how my classroom and my own identity might change if I mix up the routine.

While I have not completed my research, I can relate to Wagner’s (1987) findings in which teachers were described as adopting “self-imperatives”. They implemented ideas of what they should be doing, and then tried to find that in their classrooms rather than trusting their own judgements. The teachers sometimes found that their “self-imperatives” went against each other. I have seen this trend as well. We often hear about what “best” teaching should look like. Except for many widely accepted norms, I often find these “rules” to be in conflict with each other. Much research does not take into account differences in teachers, school, demographics, etc. I hope that my research will allow me to explore and better my classroom.

Nilson DaSilva#5 FNED 547 Fall 2015

Memo#5 The importance of mess in AR

It is easier to understand and get involved with action research (AR) when you get a sense of how experts in this methodology fell in their jumble process. As a methodic teacher, I like things in order so before read the article, I was unsure about the importance of mess in the inquiring researching, whose cycles look like a ‘lucky dip’ process. It seems my professional motivation goes higher when I plan and execute tasks in a sequence.  Now that I understand that the real learning for action researchers is in the "botanizing period', I recognize my feelings of untidiness, free flowing as characteristics of the ‘searching for meaning period’.  Currently, my mess is bumbling where I am constantly sorting and streaming ideas to find what constitutes my main inquiry as well as the important areas for investigation. All these attempts to find my watershed, are quite confused as they can be perceived as the familiar awaiting for the illumination of a punctum point. No doubt, I can be flexible enough to fit my own different ways of working in this sorting out things which in AR involves knowledge, experience, judgment and intuition to find the pivotal learning point.  According to Cook, this stage moves the interest from passive to active and intense. She also pointed out the difference between the focus point to the punctum point, where the focus point draws you in and holds you while the punctum point is the stage where I think I am in now. I will also call my stage in AR as a melting pot of thoughts, feelings, ideas and theories. In short, I feel comfortable with my mess understanding it as part of a teacher`s function while developing action research to admit inadequacies and changing process to develop spontaneous and creative transformational pedagogy practices.

 

 

Dan Harris Memo #5

Mess in Action Research

I like the way the author phrased he experience with action research as "highlighting and studying the problem as opposed to researching the solution."  Framing action research in this way helps me build a better understanding of the difference between action research and quantitative education research.  

I also identify with the author's discomfort with the incongruity between how they experienced their work and how they are representing it to the world.  I actually feel the same way when I tell people, especially my coaches, about my classroom.  Last year I really did not like when I felt like I was not accurately representing what was going on in my classroom.  Usually it was because it's impossible to convey everything just by telling people about it, but in some cases, it was relieving for my coaches to come into my class so that I did not feel the tension between reality and the "tidied" version of my classroom.  

It is interesting reading about this very meta-discussion about action research.  Flexibility vs. Structure/Planning is a big point of conflict for the sub-group.  When the group reflects on the literature on action research, the talk about planning the direction of the research really makes them question their own action research process.  The question I have is - is "having a plan" just a function of writing a final product and picking a plan out of research which in reality was a lot less linear?  Are the authors of the action research literature, when they write about having a plan, just trying to write mimic quantitative studies where there was a problem, then research, then a solution?  

From my experience doing research with a Professor, while I was an undergrad, I found that traditional researchers pursue this idea of "good research" with the goal of getting published in a well respected peer-reviewed journal.  It seems that the group is struggling with the lack of alignment between what they feel their process has been and these "models" of action research that they read about.  I also would feel a lack of confidence in my work if I felt that my process wasn't pursuing the "right" goal.  It seems like people pursuing traditional research have an easier time feeling confident because they don't have to acknowledge the messiness of it.  

Now that I'm writing this, it seems that there may not be that much difference between traditional research and action research besides how traditional research obscures the messiness of the whole process until there is a clear, marketable finding.  Messiness is seen as poor research that didn't clearly isolate one problem or reach a meaningful conclusion.  In action research, there is a real departure from the generic scientific method.  I disagree with the opinion that we do not have a way of intelligibly articulating the messy research process.  I think great things can come from getting a glimpse into others' thinking processes.  It seems weird to think of that as research, because it is so not results oriented, but I think that is the true value in action research.  

Gemma Travis Memo #5

            When I first think of having mess in any type of school work, I become a little worried.  I usually like to keep everything organized and know what I have to do and when I have to do it, without any unexpected surprises.  However, since trying to develop research questions, and knowing that my questions might change completely as I continue observing, I have felt a little less organized than I would prefer. 

After reading the Cook article, I’m feeling more comfortable with this bit of disorganization.  The article helped me to realize that mess is completely natural with action research.   Cook discusses that there is a mess in action research that allows for creativity, spontaneity, and the unveiling of more questions to be answered.  I am experiencing some of this “bumbling” during these very beginning stages of the research process, and I anticipate that this could continue as I keep observing and collecting data.  The mess that I’m feeling at this stage of the process comes with the uncertainty of what my actual project will look like.  Will I come up with a completely different set of research questions? Will my data be able to help me answer these questions the way I hoped it would? What will be the overall outcome of my research? The only way to answer these questions is to become comfortable with the mess, continue observing, collect more data, be open to new questions, and move forward with the research process. 

As I continue, I expect that there will be more mess along the way.  Collecting data will likely be messy.  What I find through observations, interviews, surveys, pre/post-tests, and reflections might be unexpected and could bring about more questions. Conducting a literature review might have the same effects as I gather new information from other sources.  I need to be open to the mess in this process and comfortable with not having a concrete plan.  I can only hope that it will all come together neatly in my final research paper and presentation.

Aly Catalan Memo #5

I admit that in all facets of my life I am totally uncomfortable with mess! I need clarity and organization. I pride myself in giving explicit directions, and you won't find a crumb on the hardwood floors in my house. With that said, after reading Tina Cook's article, I gained a better understanding of what action research really looks like and what I would need to do in order to let my research be authentic and flow. The part in the article where Cook says "the part where we were submerged in data, thoughts, feelings, ideas, and theories that as yet had not crystallized can be perceived as the familiar awaiting the illumination of a punctum point," really resonated with me because I could feel exactly what she was talking about. AR will be an intricate process and I can see myself feeling as the quote describes above: waiting for the answer to show themselves. I am looking forward to collecting data but only in order to find a solution. I need to learn to appreciate the entire process and how that will allow me to grow as a professional.

One part of the article that really struck me was under the sections attempting to define the messy bit and it said that "a lot of it is casting around and then something grabs you." This is how I felt about trying to narrow down and choose a research question. I feel like that was a messy process for me, so hopefully that experience will prepare me to get through the mess of all of the research data points.

One thing that I am worried about is going through my TRJ. I can anticipate that my daily thoughts and observations will be lengthy and difficult to sort out, especially when I am discussing individual students. Like the article talks about, I also tend to have a need for a model, which the journal does not provide since it will be different for each person. Although I do not like mess, I can learn to live with it and will try to appreciate the entire process.

HJ Bennett Memo #5

I have cause for concern as I am not one who cares for mess in my classroom, in my house and in my life.  As I struggle to put my thoughts down on paper for my research project, I realize that I need to be flexible and just let it flow.   I do expect that as I write down research ideas and questions, I remain active in the "sorting out period" where I map out strategies and clean up the gray areas in order to make the obvious appear (at least I hope so!).  Like my students, I need lots of scaffolding to help construct my research project and diminish my sense of insecurity.  

Jackie Nelson Memo #5

      As humans, we just look for structure and validation. The article talks about how having a model for the way AR is carried out, limits flexibility. Not having a specific model to follow can be intimidating for researchers, but having flexibility to try and create the model that works best seems to be an important part of AR. With that said, I don't love a mess, but I think that I can learn to work through it.
       I think that knowing that it is OK for AR to be messy helps me to not be intimidated to try things and put my ideas out on the table. Having other people read and critique your work can be a challenge, but knowing that everyone is a mess together, makes it seem less painful.
     I worry a little bit about letting things "arise and bubble" (pg. 103). If I had an unlimited amount of time, I would be OK seeing what comes up in my journals and observations, but that is not the case. We have a very short amount of time to get things bubbling and to choose something. This seems a bit counterproductive to the action research that we are doing in class, but I know that it is necessary. I can see the beginning stages of data collection be sort of messy. I think that trying to organize and conduct data collection points might have to be revised if they aren't working. I know that this might be tough for me because I am the type of person who likes to have a plan and execute it efficiently. I have a feeling that AR is not going to fit this part of my personality.
     After reading the article, I now feel like I do not need an answer to the questions that I pose. I just need to start doing some messy research, put my assumptions aside and let myself look at my classroom through a clean lens.

Beth Melillo: Memo #5

  

     As an educator, I have always felt the need for things to be orderly.  As an English Language Arts teacher, I have to incorporate grammar, vocabulary, reading, and writing into my instruction.  Without order and a systematic process, I do not think I’d be able to teach comfortably.

    As I was putting together my research proposal, I became very aware of the  unknowns of my research.  I wanted to solve the problem instead of researching it.  As I continued to put each part of my proposal together, I realized there were reasons for the unknowns.  My research will be messy.  I think the  mess will lead to some discoveries that will prove invaluable and may cause me to learn more about human interaction and view my teaching practices differently.  Therefore, at the very beginning, I was extremely uncomfortable with the mess.  Now, I feel like the mess will lead me to better understanding my students.  It will be a means to finding out what I know.
In my own work, I suspect student work samples will be very messy.  It is very difficult for my students to complete their work.  It often takes an absorbent amount of time, and the outcomes vary significantly.  When I think a student can demonstrate understanding, his or her work does not always prove this to be true.  Additionally, I often have to seek out an assignment repeatedly before I receive it.  This process of reviewing student work and waiting for student work is very chaotic and has taken me an extremely long time to accept.  At times, I still find it daunting.  I suspect it will be a very messy part of my research.

Memo 5_Comfort with Mess

After reading "The Importance of Mess in Action Research" by Tina Cook (now posted in the Google Drive folder) write a response to the article.  How comfortable are you with mess in general?  As a teacher?  What can you anticipate that might be messy in your own research?